Comparison of methotrexate and azathioprine as the first-line steroid-sparing immunosuppressive agents in patients with Takayasu's arteritis.

BACKGROUND: Immunosuppressive (IS) agents are recommended for the first-line treatment of patients with active Takayasu's arteritis (TAK) together with glucocorticoids (GCs). However, there is limited data comparing the efficacy and outcomes of different IS agents for this purpose. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we aimed to compare the outcomes of two most frequently used first-line IS agents, namely methotrexate (MTX) and azathioprine (AZA) in TAK patients. METHODS: TAK patients who received any IS agent in addition to GCs as the initial therapy were included in this multicentre, retrospective cohort study. Clinical, laboratory and imaging data of the patients were assessed. In addition, a matched analysis (cc match) using variables 'age', 'gender' and 'diffuse aortic involvement' was performed between patients who received MTX or AZA as the first-line IS treatment. RESULTS: We recruited 301 patients (F/M: 260/41, mean age: 42.2 ± 13.3 years) from 10 tertiary centres. As the first-line IS agent, 204 (67.8 %) patients received MTX, and 77 (25.6 %) received AZA. Less frequently used IS agents included cyclophosphamide in 17 (5.6 %), leflunomide in 2 (0.5 %) and mycophenolate mofetil in one patient. The remission, relapse, radiographic progression and adverse effect rates were similar between patients who received MTX and AZA as the first-line IS agent. Vascular surgery rate was significantly higher in the AZA group (23% vs. 9 %, p = 0.001), whereas the frequency of patients receiving ≤5 mg/day GCs at the end of the follow-up was significantly higher in the MTX group (76% vs 62 %, p = 0.034). Similarly, the rate of vascular surgery was higher in AZA group in matched analysis. Drug survival was similar between MTX and AZA groups (median 48 months, MTX vs AZA: 32% vs 42 %, p = 0.34). IS therapy was discontinued in 18 (12 MTX, 6 AZA) patients during the follow-up period due to remission. Among those patients, two patients had a relapse at 2 and 6 months, while 16 patients were still on remission at the end of a mean 69.4 (±50.9) months of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Remission, relapse, radiographic progression and drug survival rates of AZA and MTX were similar for patients with TAK receiving an IS agent as the first-line f therapy. The rate of vascular surgery was higher and the rate of GC dose reduction was lower with AZA compared to MTX at the end of the follow-up.

Predictive ability of shock index in survival of ICU admitted emergency surgery patients: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Shock index (SI) is defined as the ratio of heart rate to systolic blood pressure and is a feasible and reliable tool to assess patients' circulatory status in emergency conditions. Its efficiency was shown in hemorrhagic shock, sepsis, trauma, and emergency triages. This study was planned to evaluate predictive ability of SI on 28-day survival of intensive care unit (ICU) admitted emergency surgery (eSurg) patients. METHODS: The study was conducted in a 20-bed capacity ICU of a University Hospital. Medical records of patients who were admitted to ICU after an eSurg between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019, were retrospectively scanned. Patients with age <18 and >90, elective surgeries, no written consents, missing data, and lost to follow-up were excluded from the study. Patients age, gender, surgery type, associated medical comorbidity, ICU mechanic ventilatory (MV) length, length of stay (LOS), and 28-day survival status were recorded. Selected pre-operative (pre-op) and post-operative (post-op) laboratory parameters (hemoglobin [Hb], platelet count, international normalized ratio [INR], and pH) were collected, sequential organ failure assessment and SI scores were calculated. Data were statistically processed with 95% confidence interval and p<0.05 significance in relation to survival. RESULTS: Patient survival rate was 95%. Abdominal and gastrointestinal surgeries constituted 47% of the cases. The most frequent comorbidities were cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. In statistical analyses, neither surgery type nor associated medical con-dition was related to patient outcome. The mean LOS was 2.3 days. The mean MV length was about 23 h and significantly shorter in survived patients (p<0.001, t=-7.5). The higher post-op Hb levels were related to the higher survival (p=0.020, t=2.4). Post-op higher INR levels were found as a negative prognostic factor for survival (p=0.025, t=-2.3). Both pre-op and post-op pH levels were significantly related to patient survival (p=0.001, t=1.9 and p<0.001, t=7.1). The lower post-op SI scores were predictive to the shorter MV lengths (p=0.010, t=1.9). A significant relation was presented between lower pre-op and especially post-op SI scores and patients' survival (p=0.001, t=-1.6 and p=0.001, t=-2.9). CONCLUSION: This study presented that SI scores successfully predicted patients' survival in ICU admitted eSurg patients. We believe that the SI forgotten in the dusty shelves of the literature does not get the importance it deserves. SI is a simplistic, reliable, and highly cost-effective assessment tool. Larger prospective RCTs should be planned to assess feasibility and reliability of SI in different patient populations.